One year after the initial announcement at the 2024 Foundations and Frontiers forum to develop a National Construction Strategy, the 2025 event, FF25, took place on August 6 in Brisbane as a pivotal checkpoint to evaluate the progress made since the strategy’s inception.
Hosted by the Australian Constructors Association (ACA) at Nissan Arena, FF25 convened senior government officials, industry leaders, union representatives, and major supply chain and project clients for a focused, outcomes-driven discussion.
The forum’s central agenda was to assess the tangible results achieved and identify the areas requiring accelerated action.
Jon Davies, CEO of the ACA, emphasised the forum’s significance, saying: “Foundations and Frontiers isn’t just another industry event — it’s a litmus test for reform.”
He continued: “We’ll be putting the National Construction Strategy under the spotlight and asking what tangible progress has been made since its development was announced at FF24.”
Despite important foundational steps like the National Construction Strategy and the Blueprint for the Future — both products of the collaborative National Construction Industry Forum — the broader industry impact remains to be fully realised.
Davies noted: “We’ve seen strong intent — but delivery is the real test.
“FF25 is about reflecting on progress, identifying what’s still missing and working together — clients, contractors and unions — to unlock the productivity improvements our industry urgently needs.”
An essential highlight of FF25 was the release of outcomes from the Leaders Exchange: a high-level roundtable held the evening before the forum, which gathered more than 120 senior sector decision-makers.
The group tackled the substantial $60 billion productivity gap that has challenged the construction industry over the past three decades.
“We’re narrowing in on a few critical areas where consensus could unlock immediate productivity gains,” Davies said.
“The outcomes of these discussions will contribute to the Queensland Productivity Commission review and feed into the national Economic Reform Roundtable next week.”
FF25 has clearly established itself as a crucial milestone for the Australian construction sector, measuring progress on reform commitments and setting the stage for future industry-wide collaboration and economic productivity improvements.